Officials from the Columbia/Boone County Health Department and the Family Health Center on Monday celebrated the opening of a new building that has enough room to allow both organizations to serve the community better.

The new Sanford-Kimpton building, on West Worley at the site of the old Nowell’s grocery store, has been home to the health department and the center since this summer. Inside, patients are greeted with open ceilings, natural colors on the walls and more space.

Keeping the No. 8 team in the nation below all its season averages on offense is one way to prove you are a legitimate defense.

That is what the Missouri defense did against Texas on Saturday, holding the No. 16 offense in the nation to 299 yards of offense in the 28-20 loss. That total was well below the Longhorns’ season average of 442.2 yards.

Higher education and music are family affairs for Richard Hocks, professor emeritus at MU’s Honors College, and his family.

Hocks has taught English at MU since 1965 and at the Honors College since 1969. He, his wife, Elaine, and two of their four children have doctorate degrees in English and teach at the university level. They are also accomplished musicians.

On a late September morning, Boone County Commission candidate Mike Asmus hops off his red-white-and-blue bike and begins a trek up his first driveway of the day. With colorful political leaflets and a confident smile, Asmus rings the doorbell and introduces himself to an older man in a green shirt, who listens politely but seems only mildly interested in county politics.

Later that day at the annual Boone County Volunteer Reception, Southern District Commissioner Karen Miller greets guests with small talk and a handshake. She exhibits an unflappable knack for names and a deep knowledge of county business.

Blunt, the secretary of state, and McCaskill, the state auditor, each were hoping the debate Monday could give them the edge in the Nov. 2 election in a race that public opinion polls show to be virtually even. The second and final televised debate is scheduled for Friday in Springfield, Mo.

Tom Baugh’s job as superintendent of the Hallsville R-IV school system has broader focus than his previous post as principal of Hallsville High School. Instead of focusing on one component of Hallsville’s sprawling and interconnected campus, Baugh must look beyond the small community to determine his school system’s status.

“When you take this chair, you become concerned about the district focus, the focus of K through 12,” Baugh said.

JEFFERSON CITY — Bill Hodge read in the newspaper that some school districts in Missouri could afford to install rock-climbing walls in their schools. Those districts seem a world away from his in rural Jasper County.

“I’m not asking for a rock-climbing wall; I’m asking for a suitable place where our elementary and junior high kids can have adequate instruction,” said Hodge, principal of Jasper High School.

Henry Rehmert Sr. of Montgomery City pleaded guilty Monday morning to racketeering charges in federal court. He was one of four men indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2003 on charges related to the deaths of two Columbia residents.

Rehmert, his son and two other men were involved in a criminal enterprise meant to deceive and defraud individuals of money from 1989 to 2002, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Louis.

Bruce and Kathleen Maier want the Columbia City Council to rezone about 42 acres at the east end of Stadium Boulevard to allow for commercial development. They just don’t know exactly what they want to put there.

And that’s a problem, at least for some of their neighbors and members of the council.

It’s probably safe to say these days that most people know at least one problem gambler. Some are addicted to bingo or video poker, while others can’t stay away from lottery tickets or casinos. Like those addicted to alcohol or drugs, these people can’t resist games of chance.

Missouri gamblers were the subject of a recent study by Harvard researchers, who sought to determine the extent of problem gambling in the state. According to their report, about 39,000 Missourians had faced a serious gambling problem in the past year. The study, funded by a grant from the Port Authority of Kansas City, focused on more than 5,000 individuals who had voluntarily excluded themselves from state casinos since 1996. Under the self-exclusion program, these folks subject themselves to prosecution for trespassing if they attempt to enter casinos. These individuals are, apparently, seeking help big time. So far, it is estimated that 13 percent of Missouri’s problem gamblers are seeking that kind of assistance.